Monster Hunter International

Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a 14th story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer. It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.

Skinwalker: Jane Yellowrock, Book 1

Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind-a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires and hunts vampires for a living. But now she's been hired by Katherine Fontaneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katie's Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who's killing other vamps.

Grimoire of the Lamb: An Iron Druid Chronicles Novella

When he’s not vanquishing villainous gods or dodging demons, 2,000-year-old Druid Atticus O’Sullivan can be found behind the counter of Third Eye Books and Herbs in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, literally minding his own business. But when an evil sorcerer - and amateur shoplifter - snatches an ancient Egyptian tome of black magic, The Grimoire of the Lamb, Atticus is not sheepish about pursuing him to the ends of the earth...or at least to the Land of the Pharaohs.

The Never Hero: The Chronicles of Jonathan Tibbs, Book 1

Reclusive college student Jonathan Tibbs wakes in a pool of blood, not a scratch on him. His life is about to undergo a massive shift. A violent and merciless otherworldly enemy unleashes slaughter in the streets, calling out in a language only he understands. And it is seeking its challenger. In order to defeat the threat, Jonathan must become a temporal weapon...while remaining completely anonymous. Unfortunately, harnessing off-world powers has its own special challenges...

Steelheart: The Reckoners, Book 1

Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills. Nobody fights the Epics...nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them. And David wants in. He wants Steelheart - the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father.

Steel World: Undying Mercenaries, Book 1

In the 20th century Earth sent probes, transmissions, and welcoming messages to the stars. Unfortunately, someone noticed. The Galactics arrived with their battle fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined their vast Empire. Swearing allegiance to our distant alien overlords wasn't the only requirement for survival. We also had to have something of value to trade, something that neighboring planets would pay their hard-earned credits to buy. As most of the local worlds were too civilized to have a proper army, the only valuable service Earth could provide came in the form of soldiers....

The Lost Fleet: Dauntless

Captain John "Black Jack" Geary's legendary exploits are known to every schoolchild. Revered for his heroic "last stand" in the early days of the war, he was presumed dead. But a century later, Geary miraculously returns from survival hibernation and reluctantly takes command of the Alliance fleet as it faces annihilation by the Syndics.

Appalled by the hero-worship around him, Geary is nevertheless a man who will do his duty. And he knows that bringing the stolen Syndic hypernet key safely home is the Alliance's one chance to win the war. But to do that, Geary will have to live up to the impossibly heroic "Black Jack" legend.

Debt of Bones

A milestone of storytelling set in the world of The Sword of Truth, Debt of Bones is the story of young Abby's struggle to win the aid of the wizard Zedd Zorander, the most important man alive. Abby is trapped, not only between both sides of the war, but in a mortal conflict between two powerful men. For Zedd, who commands power most men can only imagine, granting Abby's request would mean forsaking his sacred duty. With the storm of the final battle about to save the life of a child....

Warbreaker

Warbreaker is the story of two sisters who happen to be princesses, the God King one of them has to marry, the lesser god who doesn't like his job, and the immortal who's still trying to undo the mistakes he made hundreds of years ago. Their world is one in which those who die in glory return as gods to live confined to a pantheon in Hallandren's capital city and where a power known as BioChromatic magic is based on an essence known as breath that can be collected only one unit at a time.

The Dragons of Dorcastle: The Pillars of Reality, Book 1

The Mechanics and the Mages have been bitter rivals, agreeing only on the need to keep the world they rule from changing. But now a Storm approaches, one that could sweep away everything humans have built. Only one person has any chance of uniting enough of Dematr behind her to stop the Storm, but the Great Guilds and many others will stop at nothing to defeat her.

Neverwhere

Richard Mayhew is an unassuming young businessman living in London, with a dull job and a pretty but shrewish fiancée. Then one night he stumbles upon a girl lying on the sidewalk, bleeding. He stops to help her, and his life is changed forever. Soon he finds himself living in a London most people would never have dreamed of: a city of monsters and saints, murderers and angels. It is a world that exists entirely in a subterranean labyrinth of sewer canals and abandoned subway stations.

Swarm: Star Force, Book 1

Kyle Riggs is snatched by an alien spacecraft sometime after midnight. The ship is testing everyone it catches and murdering the weak. The good news is that Kyle keeps passing tests and staying alive. The bad news is the aliens who sent this ship are the nicest ones out there.

This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It

Warning: You may have a huge, invisible spider living in your skull. This is not a metaphor. You will dismiss this as ridiculous fearmongering. Dismissing things as ridiculous fearmongering is, in fact, the first symptom of parasitic spider infection - the creature secretes a chemical into the brain to stimulate skepticism, in order to prevent you from seeking a cure. That’s just as well, since the “cure” involves learning what a chain saw tastes like. You can’t feel the spider, because it controls your nerve endings.

Nice Dragons Finish Last: Heartstrikers, Book 1

Audie Award, Fantasy, 2016. As the smallest dragon in the Heartstriker clan, Julius survives by a simple code: keep quiet, don't cause trouble, and stay out of the way of bigger dragons. But this meek behavior doesn't fly in a family of ambitious magical predators, and his mother, Bethesda the Heartstriker, has finally reached the end of her patience.

Live Free or Die: Troy Rising, Book One

When aliens trundled a gate to other worlds into the solar system, the world reacted with awe, hope and fear. But the first aliens to come through, the Glatun, were peaceful traders and the world breathed a sigh of relief.

Succubus Blues: Georgina Kincaid, Book 1

Succubus (n.) An alluring, shape-shifting demon who seduces and pleasures mortal men. Pathetic (adj.) A succubus with great shoes and no social life. See: Georgina Kincaid. When it comes to jobs in hell, being a succubus seems pretty glamorous. A girl can be anything she wants, the wardrobe is killer, and mortal men will do anything just for a touch. Granted, they often pay with their souls, but why get technical? But Seattle succubus Georgina Kincaid's life is far less exotic.

Ex-Heroes

Stealth. Gorgon. Regenerator. Cerberus. Zzzap. The Mighty Dragon. They were heroes. Vigilantes. Crusaders for justice, using their superhuman abilites to make Los Angeles a better place. Then the plague of living death spread around the globe. Despite the best efforts of the superheroes, the police, and the military, the hungry corpses rose up and overwhelmed the country. The population was decimated, heroes fell, and the city of angels was left a desolate zombie wasteland like so many others.

The Gray Man

Court Gentry is known as The Gray Man - a legend in the covert realm, moving silently from job to job, accomplishing the impossible, and then fading away. And he always hits his target. But there are forces more lethal than Gentry in the world. And in their eyes, Gentry has just outlived his usefulness. Now, he is going to prove that for him, there's no gray area between killing for a living-and killing to stay alive.

Red Rising

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children. But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet.

Pushing Ice

2057. Humanity has raised exploiting the solar system to an art form. Bella Lind and the crew of her nuclear-powered ship, the Rockhopper, push ice. They mine comets. And they're good at it. The Rockhopper is nearing the end of its current mission cycle, and everyone is desperate for some much-needed R & R, when startling news arrives from Saturn: Janus, one of Saturn's ice moons, has inexplicably left its natural orbit and is now heading out of the solar system at high speed.

Homeland: Legend of Drizzt: Dark Elf Trilogy, Book 1

This stunning new release of the classic R.A. Salvatore novel recounts the origins of Salvatore's signature dark elf character, Drizzt Do'Urden. This title kicks off The Legend of Drizzt series, which will showcase the classic dark elf novels in these new audiobook editions.

City of Golden Shadow: Otherland, Book 1

Surrounded by secrecy, it is home to the wildest dreams and darkest nightmares. Incredible amounts of money have been lavished on it. The best minds of two generations have labored to build it. And somehow, bit by bit, it is claiming the Earth's most valuable resource - its children.

Lucifer's Hammer

The gigantic comet had slammed into Earth, forging earthquakes a thousand times too powerful to measure on the Richter scale, tidal waves thousands of feet high. Cities were turned into oceans; oceans turned into steam. It was the beginning of a new Ice Age and the end of civilization. But for the terrified men and women chance had saved, it was also the dawn of a new struggle for survival--a struggle more dangerous and challenging than any they had ever known....

On Basilisk Station: Honor Harrington, Book 1

Honor Harrington has been exiled to Basilisk station and given an antique ship to police the system. The vindictive superior who sent her there wants her to fail. But he made one mistake: he's made her mad....

Publisher's Summary

Accountant turned professional monster hunter Owen Zastava Pitt managed to stop the nefarious Old Ones' invasion plans last year, but as a result made an enemy out of one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Now an evil death cult known as the Church of the Temporary Mortal Condition wants to capture Owen in order to gain the favor of the great Old Ones. The Condition is led by a fanatical necromancer known as the Shadow Man. The government wants to capture the Shadow Man and has assigned the enigmatic Agent Franks to be Owen's full-time bodyguard, which is a polite way of saying that Owen is monster bait.

With supernatural assassins targeting his family, a spy in their midst, and horrific beasties lurking around every corner, Owen and the staff of Monster Hunter International don't need to go hunting, because this time the monsters are hunting them. Fortunately, this bait is armed and very dangerous.

If you could sum up Monster Hunter Vendetta in three words, what would they be?

World's best villain.

What did you like best about this story?

The villain in this story is great. He's cunning and powerful and, most importantly, understandable. He's a fantastic example of a man driven to evil, rather than being evil for evil's sake. His motives are clear and his means are ruthless, he was a fantastic character.

Have you listened to any of Oliver Wyman???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This one continues the excellent quality of the first Monster Hunter book, with Oliver bringing Owen to life.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Sometimes, the end justifies the means... but an automatic shotgun always means the end to something.

Any additional comments?

This is a great sequel to a fun first book. I look forward to the next book in the series.

What did you like best about Monster Hunter Vendetta? What did you like least?

The main characters were quite engaging and it was nice to meet more family members (this is book 2 after all) but every time a real problem occurred more improbable powers appeared and it just got silly.

Would you ever listen to anything by Larry Correia again?

2 books have been fun, mostly, but enough is enough.

Any additional comments?

This is such a boys annual for adults book. Lots of shooting, slashing, car crashes and a hero who is totally indestructible to the point where he survives what no human being before him has survived. Oh, and he is the only hope for the future of the human race. I usually don't have too much trouble suspending belief in fantasy novels but this tested me. However, if you love pure action and impossible heroes, you'll love this book.

Monster Hunter Vendetta is the second installment of Larry Correia’s MONSTER HUNTER INTERNATIONAL series. In the first book, Monster Hunter International, we met Owen Zastava Pitt who used to be an accountant and gun hobbyist until his boss turned into a werewolf and Owen had to kill him. Now Owen is one of the best agents MHI has ever had.

It’s lucky that he’s so good at his job because Owen made a very dangerous enemy when he recently thwarted the Old Ones’ attempt to break into our dimension (read about this in the first book, Monster Hunter International). Now Owen is being hunted by the minions of the Old Ones, including a necromancer named The Shadow Man and the members of a death cult called the Church of the Temporary Mortal Condition. Because they’re evil, they’ll stop at nothing to get their way, including killing innocent people and targeting Owen’s family to get at him.

This time Owen and the gang are fighting — along with all the usual werewolves, vampires and zombie hordes — doppelgängers, undead elephants, zombie bears, a shoggoth, giant walking trees, gangsta gnomes (so funny!), a brain worm that eats memories, and Julie’s mother. It sounds like too much — everything but the kitchen sink, you know (though I wouldn’t be surprised to find MHI shooting animated kitchen sinks in a future installment) — but it works.

As usual, the government can’t stop themselves from meddling with MHI. They want in on the action and they know Owen is the target, so Agent Franks, one of Owen’s human nemeses, is assigned as Owen’s bodyguard. If you didn’t love Agent Franks already (and you probably didn’t), you will by the end of Monster Hunter Vendetta.

It doesn’t happen very often that the second book in a series is better than the first, but it’s true in this case. Monster Hunter Vendetta is a wild ride — to say that it’s exciting, frightening, creative, violent, bloody and funny would be too much of an understatement. It’s eye-popping, heart-pounding, and totally unputdownable. I was engrossed (and grossed out) from the first page to the last. As I mentioned in my review of the previous book, it’s too gory for me to say that I really love it — a few too many disemboweled bodies and heads bitten off for me — but I can say that I really really admire it and I almost love it. Those who go for this sort of thing are likely to consider MONSTER HUNTER INTERNATIONAL a perfect specimen of testosterone-filled dude lit. (This sounds sexist, I know, but Larry Correia could have made this series more appealing to female readers by increasing the romantic tension.)

One thing I particularly liked about Monster Hunter Vendetta is that it’s very funny. Not the wacky slapstick Three Stooges kind of funny — there’s none of that. Correia uses a delightfully morbid dry humor which works especially well with Oliver Wyman’s narration of the audio version. Though Wyman’s narration is lively, he deadpans the humorous lines perfectly. (If you’re reading MHI and haven’t tried the audio version, you’re missing out.) There are also occasional SFF allusions that made me smile.

I’m impressed with how well plotted this series has been so far. Larry Correia set up the background for Monster Hunter Vendetta back in the first book when we learn about Owen’s family, Julie’s parents, and the history of MHI. I already felt like I knew Owen’s mother, a Serbian woman who demonstrates her love by cooking for people, his father who brought up his boys to be tough survivalists, and his brother who became a heavy metal rock star. When we meet Owen’s family in Monster Hunter Vendetta we (and Owen himself) start to comprehend that his destiny has been in place since before he was even born. This plot is way bigger than we realized back in book one. I can’t wait to read on….

Accountant turned professional monster hunter, Owen Zastava Pitt, managed to stop the nefarious Old One’s invasion plans last year, but as a result made an enemy out of one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Now an evil death cult known as the Church of the Temporary Mortal Condition wants to capture Owen in order to gain the favor of the great Old Ones. The Condition is led by a fanatical necromancer known as the Shadow Man. The government wants to capture the Shadow Man and has assigned the enigmatic Agent Franks to be Owen’s full time bodyguard, which is a polite way of saying that Owen is monster bait. With supernatural assassins targeting his family, a spy in their midst, and horrific beasties lurking around every corner, Owen and the staff of Monster Hunter International don’t need to go hunting, because this time the monsters are hunting them. Fortunately, this bait is armed and very dangerous…

All 3 Monster Hunter books were Awsome and I cant wait for the 4th thru.... I will be purchasing all of them as I can't imagine the story line ending or flattening out. High action, great characters and great story from the "get go" to "get done".

I enjoyed every minute of listening to this book. The writer is sometimes violent yet funny. Like Harry Dresden of the Dresden files, the character is sarcastic, flawed and definitely an anti-hero. The narrator Oliver Wyman is amazing, really. His voice intonations and characters are funny, dramatic and truly believable. He really actuates the book. The first book is a warm up to this one. I say, go for it. If you like vampires, werewolves and other demons, you'll enjoy this true action adventure.

What made the experience of listening to Monster Hunter Vendetta the most enjoyable?

Larry has great ideas and makes action fun to listen to.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Just to much time is wasted with Owen being petty and argumentative. There were times I just had to stop listening, it was so painful. The arguing doesn't seem to do anything for the story, it slows down the narrative and it's just irritating to listen to.

What about Oliver Wyman’s performance did you like?

He makes the book sound like it's peopled by a multitude of different, distinct voices.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I think I laughed a couple of times.

Any additional comments?

I would have loved the book so much more without the silly school yard bull poo.

The first Monster Hunter book was quite a tour de force, a highly original-feeling story chock full of humor, insane action sequences, and epicness. The sequel gives you more of the same - which may satisfy those craving more of such, but for me it's starting to get a bit repetitive.

The plot picks up where the first left off, which is something I wasn't too keen on. Correia tries to up the stakes in every possible way, when I thought he had reached too far in the first volume. This results in what feels like a kitchen-sink mentality, where he tries to tie everything together (feeling like ret-conning at times), creating ridiculous situations for the heroes to try and escape from. The result is long, frustrating sequences that seem to be drawn-out for the intent purpose of creating more tension and upping the stakes. Then Correia has no choice but to resort to lots of deus ex machina moments in order to bail the heroes out of said situations.

Perhaps with this book the initial plotline is over, although it sounds like he's going to continue it, with lots of foreshadowing and prophecies yet to be fulfilled. Although there are elements I like to the story and his writing, I'm not sure if I want to continue any further if we are to follow the same (now old-feeling) plot line.

Correia is a little weak on the female characters but I think that may be part of his charm. He may identifiy so much with Owen, or Owen with him, that he has a hard time putting the mechanics of the male/female romantic relationship into words.

I don't think it matters much as the story moves along at such a heady clip that there may not be time for such fripperies, anyway.

I don't know much about guns (though I have one and there are more around) other than the point and shoot aspect which seems to me the critical bit but I still love the professional talk about the weapons buried in the books. My husband does understand all the nomenclature did understand and probably walked away with an even better appreciation. I was gratified that he is laughing at all the points I did.

Corriea has the gift of a very pleasant writing voice, sort of invites you to keep listening, invites you to sympathize with the characters - and, invariably, I do.

brilliant! totally entertaining. great story. builds neatly from the first volume, in fact is even better. narration is great (except for the British accent, Birmingham via London with a bit of Essex thrown in!). Otherwise a thoroughly enjoyable listen. eager for the next in the series.

After the first book, "Monster Hunter International", I knew I'd be in for a treat and was not disappointed. The prequel was really good, pity ratings only go to 5 a really great monster battle of a book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Sally Eves

7/4/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Great fun"

Love this series - action gore monstersCan't stop listening. Cheesy but good! I recommend them

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

William

COLWYN BAY, United Kingdom

9/16/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"A good sequel,"

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

yes i mean its a good book, with humour and gangster gnomes. yes you heard me gangster gnomes. what up dog. u feeleng me bruv gnomes. i have to dof my cap to Larry just for that. in other parts it continues the series on well and develops characters well.

Who was your favorite character and why?

my favorite character is hard to say, it could be G gnome. but owen is normally a good shout as he is the main character. but you know what Its got to be agent franks. (interesting fact the word Agent comes from the roman latin agentes who were like the secret police of the ancient world). yes ill go with franks as he tops out and king bad ass level 10.

What does Oliver Wyman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Oliver wyman in my opinion is a solid narrator who should be chosen more often. I cant tell you how many books ive started listening to with a poor american narrator that ruins the story. this felllow is really a good and really spins his own emotions into the tale. give it more of a feel than some of the dry renditions u hear.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

mostly humour and kick ass excitment.

Any additional comments?

please people listen to this book, its fun and action packed and does it well without taking itself to seriously which i love.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Philip

Croydon, United Kingdom

6/12/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"2nd in the series that I'm 100% happy I found"

When you find a great series, you want to dig your teeth into it - the world that Larry Correia has created in these is brilliant, it's so close to the real world that it could very well exist without us knowing, add in the amazing reading by Oliver Wyman, this series just becomes astounding

The main characters are great, realistic, and are fun to learn about, along with the stories in the series being engaging - while listening the books I've broken out into grins, laughter & quite often lost in the story and almost missing my train station

With the story moving on a-pace, great characters like Franks, the superb team that support Owen the monster hunting accountant, and when you hear them being portrayed in the audio book, you can see them in your mind, and I've already cast a film (e.g. Margot Robbie for Holly), this only makes the books better & more enjoyable

If you want a really well written series, that is incredibly read, then you can't go far wrong with this book & the series - I've spread these books to friends who have spread them to family & it's gone from there, all from me finding one on here... you couldn't do that if the book & series weren't great!

Download, listen & enjoy - this series is brilliant and I can't wait for more!!!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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